Survey Reveals Majority Of Americans Don't Support Mass Deportations

“Lost amid the current rhetoric surrounding immigration reform is one fact: Very few Americans prefer deporting the 11 million immigrants currently living in the country illegally.”

Going against President Donald Trump’s immigration and deportation policy, which authorizes deportations of thousands of undocumented immigrants, a survey revealed that a majority of Americans don’t support the mass deportations.

The survey conducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) stretched through all 50 U.S. states and a total of 40,000 interviews. It revealed that nearly two-thirds of Americans say the immigration system should allow undocumented immigrants to become citizens. Most respondents did say undocumented people must be able to meet certain requirements.

When compared with other racial groups, white Americans were twice as likely to support deportations.

The survey showed that Republicans, nearly 28 percent, supported the order and only 8 percent of Democrats were in favor of it. Only one in 10 young adults and one in nine seniors supported the “identify” and “deport” undocumented immigration system order.

“Lost amid the current rhetoric surrounding immigration reform is one fact: Very few Americans prefer deporting the 11 million immigrants currently living in the country illegally. Even majorities of Republicans and those living in the reddest states favor allowing these immigrants a chance to become citizens, provided they meet certain requirements,” said PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones.

The survey, which shows opposition from a majority of Americans on Trump’s deportation and immigration policy, raises fresh questions on these orders. The president has labeled and stereotyped all of these immigrants as criminals, rapists, drug dealers and “bad dudes.” However, it looks like the American people think exactly the opposite.

By signing the executive order, Trump marked an end to former President Barack Obama’s historic amnesty programs that effectively protected more than 740,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation over the past four years.

However, a lot of people who supported and voted for Trump are now regretting it because of the consequences. A woman who voted for Trump thought her undocumented husband wouldn’t be deported because the president had promised that “good people would not be deported.” But, she was not so lucky and her husband was deported in the dead of night before a judge could even issue a ruling on his case.

Even a Trump supporting town doesn’t support deportations.

A majority of West Frankfort, Illinois, residents voted for Trump, but when it came to one of their own, they went against the president’s order and backed a detained immigrant. Residents expressed anger after officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested the town’s beloved Mexican restaurant owner, Juan Carlos Hernandez Pacheco. The conservative Illinois town is now fighting the deportation proceedings of Pacheco.

However, Trump pays no heed to the people’s concerns and continues to push forward with deportations of individuals who have no criminal record.

“If we wait for them to violate yet another law against a citizen of this country, then it’s too late. We shouldn’t wait for them to become a criminal,” acting ICE director Thomas Homan said before a House Appropriations Committee’s Homeland Security Subcommittee.

Since Trump assumed office, ICE has picked and detained nearly 10,000 migrants who had no criminal record. Statistics also revealed 75 percent of immigrants arrested in Trump’s first 100 days had some criminal conviction. However, it remains unclear if those crimes are minor.